Courses for 2nd year Historians doing thesis research

Posted on 22 May 2012 by iholowaty

Whether you’re still trying to settle on a topic, or already reading up on a particular area, there are a host of courses over the rest of the term that can help second year History undergraduates research their thesis topic.

Specially designed for second year undergraduate Historians
Library staff will be running two sessions in the History Faculty that are specifically aimed to help you prepare for your thesis. Spaces on these courses are limited and booking is essential.

Information Skills Minimum Kit
Wednesday 6 June (week 7), 14:00-16:00 – book online NOTE: last few spaces remaining
Repeated Wednesday 13 June (week 8), 14:00-16:00 – book online. This 2-hour session is designed to equip students working on their dissertation with key information skills in order to make best use of electronic information and discovery resources. A range of databases, e-journals and web portals will be explored as well as advanced features in SOLO and tools for literature searches. Hands-on practise time will be offered. Presenters: Valerie Lawrence, Verity Westgate and Alice Nelson

RefWorks for your Dissertation
Friday 8 June (week 7), 10:00-11:30 – book online
Repeated Friday 15 June (week 8), 14:00-15:30 – book online. RefWorks is an online tool that makes it easy for students to keep track of their references and format them for inclusion in their work. This session for 2nd year History Undergraduates will give a basic introduction on how to use RefWorks for your dissertation and will highlight some of its key features. Presenter: Alice Nelson

WISER sessions

These courses are open to all members of the University and are held at OUCS on Banbury Road.

Online Resources for Historians Friday 1 June 14:00-15:15, (week 6) – book online. A general introduction to the vast range of electronic resources which are available for all historical periods for British & W European history: bibliographical databases, biographical / reference research aids, ebooks & ejournals, web portals, and collections of online primary source materials. Presenter: Isabel Holowaty

Sources for US History Friday 1 June (week 6) 15:30-17:00 – book online. Introduction to key information sources for the study of colonial America & US history. Starting with finding tools to locate material, examples of source materials will then be shown including archival, microform, printed/online collections & useful web portals & audiovisual collections. Presenter: Jane Rawson

WISER: Sources for Medievalists Monday 11 June (week 8), 9:30-12:00 – book online. General overview to a range of e-resources relevant for British & Western European medieval studies: bibliographical databases, biographical/reference tools, web portals & collections of online primary source materials of Anglo-Saxon sources, Greek/Latin texts, chronicles, charters & literary works. Presenters: Charlotte Goodall, Isabel Holowaty, Susan Usher, Hilla Wait

WISER Sessions next week on RefWorks and depositing your DPhil thesis in ORA

Posted on 30 April 2012 by iholowaty

Bodleian Libraries will be running the following workshops during week 3:

WISER: Your thesis, copyright and ORA [Wednesday 9 May 12:30 – 1:30] – Oxford DPhil students are required to deposit a copy of their thesis in ORA (Oxford University Research Archive). This session will focus on copyright and other issues that DPhil students need to take into account when preparing and writing their thesis so that they do not encounter problems when they deposit. DPhils are encouraged to attend this session early so that they can make sensible decisions regarding rights from the start of their research. Presenter: Catherine Goudie. >Book your place online

RefWorks for Humanities [Friday 11 May 14.00 – 17.00] – RefWorks is an online tool which allows you to manage your references, insert them into your work, automatically generate bibliographies and easily switch between citation styles. This introduction is open to all, but the section on importing references will focus on Humanities examples. Presenters: Valerie Lawrence and Angela Carritt. Book your place online. >Book your place online

More reference management workshops – there will be more reference management workshops later in term. See http://bodwiser.wordpress.com/ for more details.

Bodleian Libraries workshops– Check http://libguides.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/workshops for the full WISER programme and for details of other training opportunities offered by Bodleian Libraries. Why not follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/oxwiser , visit the BodWiser blog at http://bodwiser.wordpress.com or join our mailling list by sending an empty email to wiser-subscribe@maillist.ox.ac.uk

Not a member of Oxford University? – If you are not a current member of Oxford University but would like to attend a workshop please contact usered@bodleian.ox.ac.uk. Please quote your Bodleian readers card barcode number.

WISER Sessions on finding stuff next week

Posted on 25 April 2012 by iholowaty

Are you confident that you are finding the best papers to support your research and study? Next week Bodleian Libraries will be running the following workshops on finding scholarly materials.

WISER: Finding stuff – books etc on SOLO (Monday 30 April 14.00.-15.00 and repeated Wednesday 30 May 14.00-14.45) – introduces SOLO for searching Oxford Libraries and focuses on effective ways of using SOLO to find books, journal titles and other library materials in print and online. The workshop also includes placing “hold requests” for materials in the bookstacks, how to use your SOLO “MyAccount” for book renewals and other administration and using the SOLO e-shelf and alerts. Please book your place at http://www.oucs.ox.ac.uk/itlp/courses/detail/TZWA

WISER: Finding stuff – Journal Articles (Monday 30 April 15.00.-16.15 and repeated Wednesday 30 May 14.45-16.00) – an introduction to finding journal articles to support your research and learning. We will focus on searching for articles by subject and keyword and will cover sophisticated bibliographic databases and journal indexes as well as more basic search engines such as SOLO “Journal Articles” service. The session will include time for you to practice using a scholarly database in your subject area. Please book your place at http://www.oucs.ox.ac.uk/itlp/courses/detail/TZW3

WISER: Finding Stuff – Theses and Dissertations (Monday 30 April 16.15-17.00) – An introduction to finding Theses in Oxford and from Universities around the World. The session will cover searching SOLO for Oxford Theses, Index to Theses and EThOS for UK Theses and Proquest’s Dissertations and Theses database for dissertations from outside the UK. Please book your place at http://www.oucs.ox.ac.uk/itlp/courses/detail/TFZ4 .

More Bodleian Libraries workshops– Check http://libguides.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/workshops for the full WISER programme and for details of other training opportunities offered by Bodleian Libraries. Why not follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/oxwiser , visit the BodWiser blog at http://bodwiser.wordpress.com or join our mailling list by sending an empty email to wiser-subscribe@maillist.ox.ac.uk

If you have any questions please contact usered@bodleian.ox.ac.uk
Related Links: WISER website | HFL Training webpages

Undergraduate history theses on SOLO and available to consult in the HFL

Posted on 12 March 2012 by iholowaty

Final Honour School of Modern History: undergraduate theses

Around 60 theses by Modern History undergraduates from 1995 to 2007 have been catalogued and can now be searched for on SOLO (the library catalogue) and consulted in the History Faculty Library. They can be searched for on SOLO using the search term ‘Final Honour School of Modern History: undergraduate thesis’, by student candidate number, year or title. They are likely to be a particular interest to 2nd and 3rd year History undergraduates who are preparing their own theses.

The theses are for reference use only and cannot be photocopied. To consult a thesis, please ask staff at the HFL issue desk.

search results for History theses on SOLO

History of Chemistry theses on SOLO

Posted on 12 March 2012 by iholowaty

Oxford University Chemistry Part II: undergraduate theses

Approximately 70 theses by Chemistry students from 1961 to 2010 on the History of Chemistry have been catalogued. They can now be searched for on SOLO (the library catalogue) and consulted in the History Faculty Library.

The theses can be searched for on SOLO using the the search term ‘Oxford University Chemistry Part II: undergraduate thesis’, or by author name, year or title. These theses are likely to be of special interest to students of the History of Science and Medicine.

The theses are for reference use only and cannot be photocopied. To consult a thesis, please ask staff at the HFL issue desk.

Search results on SOLO for Chemistry theses

WISER sessions on finding resources and depositing your thesis

Posted on 17 January 2012 by iholowaty

There are lots of helpful WISER training sessions coming up in the coming weeks. You can subscribe to a feed of upcoming sessions to keep track too.

WISER: Finding Stuff – Books etc on SOLO [Monday 23 January 9.15 – 10.00] – Effective search techniques for finding books and other library materials using SOLO, ordering from the book stacks and using the SOLO eshelf and saved searches > Book Now

WISER: Finding Stuff – Journal Articles Monday [23 January 10.00 – 11.30] – How to find articles and papers to support your research using a wide range of bibliographic databases and how to develop your search strategy. This workshop will include plenty of time for participants to try out their own searches using databases for their subject as well as a demonstration. >Book Now

WISER: Finding Stuff – Theses and Dissertations [Monday 23 January 11.30 – 12.15] – How to find dissertations and theses from Oxford, other UK institutions and overseas. >Book Now

WISER: Your thesis, copyright and ORA [Friday 27 January 9.15 – 10.15] – Oxford DPhil students are required to deposit a copy of their thesis in ORA (Oxford University Research Archive). This session will focus on copyright and other issues that DPhil students need to take into account when preparing and writing their thesis so that they do not encounter problems when they deposit. DPhils are encouraged to attend this session early so that they can make sensible decisions regarding rights from the start of their research. >Find out more > Book now.

WISER: Getting information to come to you [Friday 27 January 10.30 – 12.00] – How to keep abreast of new publications and papers in your research area and research news and opportunities on the web using RSS feeds and email alerts. The session will include a demonstration and also time to set up your an RSS reader or email notifications.>Book Now

Keeping up to date with the WISER programme – Why not follow us on Twitter at http://twitter.com/oxwiser or visit the BodWiser blog at http://bodwiser.wordpress.com You can also check the timetable on the WISER web site at http:// libguides.bodleian.ox.ac.uk/workshops or join our mailling list by sending an empty email to wiser-subscribe@maillist.ox.ac.uk

Not a member of Oxford University? – If you are not a current member of Oxford University but would like to attend a WISER workshop please contact usered@bodleian.ox.ac.uk. Please quote your Bodleian readers card barcode number.

If you have any questions please contact usered@bodleian.ox.ac.uk

New: Oxford Bibliographies Online: medieval studies, Reformation & Renaissance, Atlantic History

Posted on 10 October 2011 by iholowaty

Looking for which primary and secondary sources? Oxford users may now find help in Oxford Bibliographies Online which Bodleian Libraries has newly subscribed to:

“OBO is a library of disciplined-based subject modules. In each subject module, leading scholars have produced a literary guide to the most important and significant sources in an area of study they know best. The guides feature a selective list of bibliographic citations supported by direct recommendations about which sources to consult. Each topic has a unique editorial commentary to show how the cited sources are interrelated. The citations promote discoverability as they link out to the sources via your library collection or through Google books and more.” About Oxford Bibliographies Online.

There are 3 modules which are of interest to historians:

Medieval Studies: “The field of Medieval Studies explores European and Mediterranean civilization from the 4th to the 15th centuries. This period, which has a critical importance for the understanding of Western culture, can best be approached through a combination of several disciplines from history to English literature. ”

Reformation and Renaissance: “The period of the Renaissance and Reformation, which spans roughly from the 14th through 17th centuries, is rich in history and culture. The field of Renaissance and Reformation studies, which has a critical importance for the understanding of Western culture, can best be approached through a combination of several disciplines including history, the arts, and literature.”

Atlantic History: “The study of Atlantic History examines the transnational interconnections between Europe, North America, South America, and Africa, particularly in the early modern and colonial period. Through this lens, a wide range of national perspectives must be considered. Thus, there are consistently new discoveries, new interpretations, and new theoretical ideas to take into account.”

Military History is now also available. See this announcement of 3 May 2013 for details.

New: Dissertations & Theses – Full-text: Humanities and Social Sciences Collections

Posted on 27 July 2011 by iholowaty

Newly available to Oxford Users:

ProQuest Dissertations and Theses — Full text is a comprehensive collection of dissertations and theses and includes millions of searchable citations to dissertation and theses from around the world, though largely from the US, covering 1861 to the present day. The database offers full text for most of the dissertations added since 1997 and strong retrospective full text coverage for older graduate works. Oxford has access to the Humanities and Social Sciences collections.

Full Text dissertations are archived as submitted by the degree-granting institution. Some will be native PDF, some PDF image.

Each dissertation published since July 1980 includes a 350-word abstract written by the author. Master’s theses published since 1988 include 150-word abstracts. Simple bibliographic citations are available for dissertations dating from 1637. Where available it provides 24-page previews of dissertations and theses.

Please note that while you can do full-text searching across the dissertations, the database doesn’t take you there and subsequent PDF searching doesn’t seem to work. We will report this to the provider.

Are you an Oxford DPhil alumnus? We need your help…

Posted on 1 March 2011 by iholowaty

Digitisation of Oxford DPhil theses for alumni

To all Oxford D.Phil. authors,

Theses in digital format are rapidly becoming ubiquitous, as scholars want to make their research widely available and easily find the work of others. Thanks to the generosity and vision of Dr Leonard Polonsky, the Bodleian Libraries are able to offer to digitise a number of Oxford D.Phil. theses. This opportunity enables us to add to the growing Oxford digital thesis collection, and should result in new citations to your work.

Because only a limited number of authors are able to take advantage of this opportunity, theses will be digitised on a first come first served basis. Digital copies will be made available online in ORA (Oxford University Research Archive).

ORA is the university’s principal online collection of research outputs produced by Oxford scholars. It offers high visibility for Oxford research. Wherever possible, the full text of research is made freely available for easy online access. More about Oxford digital theses.

If you would like us to digitise your thesis and make it available in ORA, see further details.

WISER: Finding Stuff – Theses and Dissertations

Posted on 6 May 2010 by iholowaty

This session offers guidance on finding theses, both those submitted to and held in Oxford, and those from other institutions in the UK and abroad. It will demonstrate how to exploit some of the main sources of information : SOLO, Index to Theses (UK and Ireland); and Dissertations and Theses (International) EThOS and ORA.

Presenters: Jayne Plant

Monday 10 May 11.30 – 12.30, OUCS | Book Here

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